Facts

EGGSTRA INFORMATION

For rich dye colors, use food-coloring paste available at craft and stores. Dissolve a dab of paste in a cup of hot water mixed with 1/4-cup cider vinegar.

Use tongs for dipping eggs.

Wear rubber gloves.

Cut a paper-towel tube into sections to hold eggs as they dry.

ADMIRE, BUT DON'T EATStop now if you’re thinking of multi-purposing an egg that has been used for decoration. Eggs left out of the refrigerator for more than two hours, have cracks or were cooked more than a week ago will get you sick if eaten. So, toss the hard-cooked decorated Easter egg when the season is over.

EGGSHELLS -- EMPTY OR WHOLESome decorators prefer using blown eggs -- eggshells emptied of their contents. They are light and can be saved for another year. A problem with blown eggs is the potential of ingesting raw egg, a known carrier of salmonella. Eggs that have been pasteurized, a process that destroys salmonella without cooking, can be used instead, but this is costly. To empty the shell, shake the egg to break up the yolk. Then prick the shell with a needle on the top and bottom. Widen one of the holes with a toothpick. Hold the egg over the sink and blow into the smaller hole to force the insides out. Rinse the egg and let it dry.

Children and adults alike marvel at the sight of their oval creations of mint green, baby blue, pale yellows and pink pastels. As their confidence grows, so do the many ways of decorating these hard-cooked globes.

In all these recipes, spreading a tabletop with newspaper is a good place to start.

DYED EGGS

Hard-boiled eggs

Teacup for each color

Spoon for each color

Food-coloring tablets or paste

Vinegar

Vegetable oil

Paper towels

Dissolve one tablet or a dab of paste in hot water mixed with 1/4-cup vinegar for each color desired. Add several drops of oil to some of the cups.

After the eggs cool, it’s time to start dipping.

Try dipping one egg in an oil-less dye and then in one with oil.

DECOUPAGE EGGS

Hard-boiled eggs

Scissors

Wrapping paper, old magazines

or photocopies

White glue

Tempera paint and brushes

Cut out paper images and soak them for a few minutes in a mixture of 2 tablespoons of white glue and 2 tablespoons of water.

Note: Small pictures -- 1-inch square or smaller -- work best.

Remove the images from the mixture and gently press them onto the eggshell. The paper should bend and adhere to the egg’s curved surface.

Set aside to dry, then paint on borders, designs or solid colors for the background.

STICKER-STENCILED EGGS

Partially cover a cooled egg with stickers, then dip the egg in dye until the desired shade is achieved.

Let the egg dry and remove the stickers. You may also remove only some of the stickers and dip the egg into a second color.

SPONGE-STAMPED EGGS

Hard-cooked eggs

Scissors

Kitchen sponge

Tempera paints

Cut out small shapes, about 1/2-inch wide from the sponge.

Dip the sponge into the paint, dab off the excess and make a pattern of stamps on the egg.

Note: To keep colors looking good, make a sponge stamp for each color.

MARBLEIZED EGGS

Hard-cooked eggs

Egg dye

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Lightly stir the oil into a bowl of egg dye.

Immediately dip the egg into the liquid. You may also stand the egg in a small cup and slowly spoon the oil and water mixture over it.

When the egg dries, repeat the steps with another color for a multi-color effect.

RUBBER BAND EGGS

Hard-cooked eggs

Rubber bands of various widths, long enough to wrap around the eggs several times

Egg dye

Paper towels

Wrap rubber bands around the egg, covering it completely.

Dip the covered egg into the dye. The color will seep under the bands in some areas and be blocked out in other areas. Remove the egg when the desired shade is achieved.

Blot dry with paper towels and remove the rubber bands.

EGGHEADS

Raw eggs

Needle

Permanent markers or paint

Spoon

Potting soil

Grass seeds

Egg carton

Use a needle or small nail to make a hole about the size of a quarter on one end of an egg, then drain and rinse out the shell.

With the open end as the top, draw or paint funny faces on the shells and when dried, place them solid-side down in the egg carton. Note: Permanent markers are best so the colors will not bleed when you water the hair.

Use a spoon to fill the shells with soil, then plant the grass seeds according to the package instructions.

When the eggheads grow green mane, remove them from the carton and place them on a stand. Style the hair different ways.

DRIPPED-ON EGGS

Hard-cooked eggs

Rubber gloves

Applicator brush

Rubber cement

Egg-carton lid

Egg dye in bowl

Wearing rubber gloves, hold an egg in one hand and use the applicator brush to dribble gobs of rubber cement over the egg. Rest the egg in an empty egg-carton lid. Allow to dry thoroughly.

Dip the egg into a bowl of dye. When the desired shade is achieved, remove the egg and let it dry.

Peel off the glue and add additional colors, if desired.

FINGERPRINT EGGS

Hard-cooked eggs

Craft sealer

Paintbrush

Tempera paint

Paper towels

Paint the egg with a coat of craft sealer.

Hold the egg on the ends with a thumb and finger so it can be rotated while being stamped. Dip a finger in the paint, dab off the excess on a paper towel and gently press a design onto the egg.

-- Adapted from www.familyfun.go.com Michelle Moore writes for The Dispatch in Lexington, N.C.

<p>The annual pre-Easter ritual in many households begins with a simple batch of plain white eggs and dreams of turning them into splashy, colorful representatives of spring and symbols of life.</p><p>Children and adults alike marvel at the sight of their oval creations of mint green, baby blue, pale yellows and pink pastels. As their confidence grows, so do the many ways of decorating these hard-cooked globes.</p><p>In all these recipes, spreading a tabletop with newspaper is a good place to start.</p><h3>DYED EGGS</h3>
<p>Hard-boiled eggs</p><p>Teacup for each color</p><p>Spoon for each color</p><p>Food-coloring tablets or paste</p><p>Vinegar</p><p>Vegetable oil</p><p>Paper towels</p><p>Dissolve one tablet or a dab of paste in hot water mixed with 1/4-cup vinegar for each color desired. Add several drops of oil to some of the cups.</p><p>After the eggs cool, it’s time to start dipping.</p><p>Try dipping one egg in an oil-less dye and then in one with oil.</p><h3>DECOUPAGE EGGS</h3>
<p>Hard-boiled eggs</p><p>Scissors</p><p>Wrapping paper, old magazines</p><p>or photocopies</p><p>White glue</p><p>Tempera paint and brushes</p><p>Cut out paper images and soak them for a few minutes in a mixture of 2 tablespoons of white glue and 2 tablespoons of water.</p><p>Note: Small pictures -- 1-inch square or smaller -- work best.</p><p>Remove the images from the mixture and gently press them onto the eggshell. The paper should bend and adhere to the egg’s curved surface.</p><p>Set aside to dry, then paint on borders, designs or solid colors for the background.</p><h3>STICKER-STENCILED EGGS</h3>
<p>Hard-cooked eggs</p><p>Stickers -- paper reinforcements, store-bought stickers, or designs cut from contract paper or mailing labels</p><p>Egg dye</p><p>Partially cover a cooled egg with stickers, then dip the egg in dye until the desired shade is achieved.</p><p>Let the egg dry and remove the stickers. You may also remove only some of the stickers and dip the egg into a second color.</p><h3>SPONGE-STAMPED EGGS</h3>
<p>Hard-cooked eggs</p><p>Scissors</p><p>Kitchen sponge</p><p>Tempera paints</p><p>Cut out small shapes, about 1/2-inch wide from the sponge.</p><p>Dip the sponge into the paint, dab off the excess and make a pattern of stamps on the egg.</p><p>Note: To keep colors looking good, make a sponge stamp for each color.</p><h3>MARBLEIZED EGGS</h3>
<p>Hard-cooked eggs</p><p>Egg dye</p><p>1 tablespoon of vegetable oil</p><p>Lightly stir the oil into a bowl of egg dye.</p><p>Immediately dip the egg into the liquid. You may also stand the egg in a small cup and slowly spoon the oil and water mixture over it.</p><p>When the egg dries, repeat the steps with another color for a multi-color effect.</p><h3>RUBBER BAND EGGS</h3>
<p>Hard-cooked eggs</p><p>Rubber bands of various widths, long enough to wrap around the eggs several times</p><p>Egg dye</p><p>Paper towels</p><p>Wrap rubber bands around the egg, covering it completely.</p><p>Dip the covered egg into the dye. The color will seep under the bands in some areas and be blocked out in other areas. Remove the egg when the desired shade is achieved.</p><p>Blot dry with paper towels and remove the rubber bands.</p><h3>EGGHEADS</h3>
<p>Raw eggs</p><p>Needle</p><p>Permanent markers or paint</p><p>Spoon</p><p>Potting soil</p><p>Grass seeds</p><p>Egg carton</p><p>Use a needle or small nail to make a hole about the size of a quarter on one end of an egg, then drain and rinse out the shell.</p><p>With the open end as the top, draw or paint funny faces on the shells and when dried, place them solid-side down in the egg carton. Note: Permanent markers are best so the colors will not bleed when you water the hair.</p><p>Use a spoon to fill the shells with soil, then plant the grass seeds according to the package instructions.</p><p>When the eggheads grow green mane, remove them from the carton and place them on a stand. Style the hair different ways.</p><h3>DRIPPED-ON EGGS</h3>
<p>Hard-cooked eggs</p><p>Rubber gloves</p><p>Applicator brush</p><p>Rubber cement</p><p>Egg-carton lid</p><p>Egg dye in bowl</p><p>Wearing rubber gloves, hold an egg in one hand and use the applicator brush to dribble gobs of rubber cement over the egg. Rest the egg in an empty egg-carton lid. Allow to dry thoroughly.</p><p>Dip the egg into a bowl of dye. When the desired shade is achieved, remove the egg and let it dry.</p><p>Peel off the glue and add additional colors, if desired.</p><h3>FINGERPRINT EGGS</h3>
<p>Hard-cooked eggs</p><p>Craft sealer</p><p>Paintbrush</p><p>Tempera paint</p><p>Paper towels</p><p>Paint the egg with a coat of craft sealer.</p><p>Hold the egg on the ends with a thumb and finger so it can be rotated while being stamped. Dip a finger in the paint, dab off the excess on a paper towel and gently press a design onto the egg.</p><p>-- Adapted from www.familyfun.go.com Michelle Moore writes for The Dispatch in Lexington, N.C.</p>